Record revenues

Bell Microproducts brought in revenues of $805m in the first quarter of 2005 ended 31 March, an increase of 22 per cent on last year.

Net earnings for the period were $4.4m or $0.15 per share compared to $1.7m or $0.06 per share.

Bell made 42 per cent of revenue in the US, 12 per cent in Latin America and 46 per cent in Europe. Revenues in North America grew 27 per cent, seven per cent in Latin America and 21 per cent in Europe. European growth was driven by the acquistion of OpenPSL in June.

Gross profit margins fell slightly from 7.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2004 to 7.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2005. Bell expects margins in Europe and company-wide in future quarters.

The firm kept pressure on expenses - operating expenses fell to 5.6 per cent of revenue compared to 6.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2004.®